Money out of Politics

The influence of money in politics has moved our government away from a democracy and towards a plutocracy. In order to create a government that is truly accountable to the people rather than corporate interests, we need legislation that gets money out of politics once and for all.

To achieve such legislation, we must first elect representatives who are free of the influence of corporate cash. All Brand New Congress candidates sign a comprehensive pledge when joining the slate which includes, among other things, a commitment to reject all corporate PAC money both in their campaign and in their tenure in office. While some believe this puts our candidates at a disadvantage electorally, we know that campaigns are stronger when they are powered by millions of real people who are personally invested in the individual they’ve chosen to represent them.

Money in politics has halted legislative progress on a myriad of issues that are important to the American people. Two particularly relevant issues are campaign finance and political lobbying. Large sums of money are thrown at candidates from wealthy individuals and corporations in order to elevate career politicians to a place where it’s extremely difficult from them to be challenged. The marriage between money and politics doesn’t stop there, as the wealthy individuals and corporate interests who bankrolled the campaigns of establishment politicians expect an open ear when lobbying them to cater to their interests in office.

The Citizens United Supreme Court decision further exacerbated this problem by allowing super PACs to spend unlimited sums of money on the candidates of their choosing. This decision must be reversed by a Constitutional amendment that gives the federal government and states more control over campaign finance, and ceases to consider corporate money the same as speech. We must also maximize transparency in political contributions by passing legislation that requires wealthy donors to disclose who they give money to.